Warriors head coach Mark Jackson said he wants to be presented with a tough decision.

He hopes the team's four training-camp invitees play so well that they're almost indispensible by the end of the month. He's pulling for them to make the debate about which one should be kept on the regular-season roster to come down to microscopic details.

Taken literally, the coach's wishes could end up hurting Dewayne Dedmon's chances, because everything about the 24-year-old 7-footer is big. He has woven together a huge story to get to this point, and his upside is immense.

"Obviously, I wish I could have played when I was a kid, but then, I wouldn't have this story to tell," he said. "My learning curve is like this: I can see myself improving every day, every practice."

Dedmon has a one-in-four chance of landing the 15th and final roster spot on the Warriors, but the fact that he's even wearing an NBA practice jersey seemed inconceivable six years ago.

Almost always the tallest in his class, he's a 7-footer now. Dedmon wasn't allowed to play basketball as a child. His mother's interpretation of the Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrine prevented her son from playing sports, because he couldn't possibly serve two masters and would miss some Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday meetings and Saturday door-to-door evangelism.

Dedmon had an awful time explaining to friends why, with that body built for basketball, he wasn't being allowed to play. He begged and pleaded to play sports every year, but was permitted only to shoot around occasionally with his friends or play football in the park. When he turned 18 during his senior year of high school, he told his mother that he was his own man and that he would play basketball, despite her warnings and those of the church.

Though he was 6-7, he had no idea what he was doing on the court and spent the majority of the season on the bench. It wasn't until he started taking classes at Antelope Valley College the next year and was informed about gray-shirting - delaying entry into college - that Dedmon's career finally found some tread.

Over the next year of proper basketball training, weight-lifting and eating, Dedmon grew into a 6-10 prospect. He averaged 6.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and two blocked shots in his first 23 games, and scholarship offers from the likes of LSU, Texas, USC and Washington followed.

He was prompted to graduate from junior college early to work out with Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stephenson at USC. Despite a couple of injuries, Dedmon had two productive seasons in Los Angeles - averaging 7.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots.

He went unselected as an early-draft entrant, but NBA teams knew his upside. He played for two summer-league teams, and seven others were vying to bring him in for training camp. It came down to San Antonio and the Warriors.

"I was like, 'Yo, you can't go wrong,' but I'm a California dude, and I want to stay in Cali," Dedmon said. "They own their D-League team, and it's close (in Santa Cruz). I don't want to play in the D-League because I know I'm an NBA player, but I'm here to show that I can learn and will do what it takes to play at this level."

In other words, he's here to create a tough decision for the Warriors.

Golden (State) opportunity?

With 14 guaranteed contracts on their roster, the Warriors have only one spot remaining - and four training-camp invitees competing for a chance to land it. Here's a brief look at the candidates, with a scouting report from head coach Mark Jackson:

Jackson: "He's a guy who came into this league with a name and a reputation. I think injuries have hurt him, but he's a proven guy. He can score and is a very good athlete. He just needs to get healthy, because when he's healthy, everybody knows that he's an NBA player."

Dewayne Dedmon, 7-0, 255, C, 24

Jackson: "He's a guy who had a very good year with our D-League team last year and had an outstanding summer. We don't go undefeated and win the Summer League without him. He has a high IQ and a great understanding of the game. He competes, defends and can shoot the basketball."